Nvidia GeForce Now game streaming comes to Mac and PC

Nvidia has been touting its GeForce Now game streaming service for its Shield tablets and Google TV boxes for a while now. The graphics giant announced a unique iteration of the service at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. GeForce Now for Mac and PC allows gamers to play games on any Windows or Mac system with high graphics quality, regardless of the hardware of the users' own system. Nvidia didn't mention how much CPU horsepower was available to virtualized gamers, but some reports say that GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1060 cards would underpin the new service.

When users log into the new GeForce Now service for the first time, they will be greeted by a blank Windows desktop. They can proceed to install Steam, Origin, UPlay, GOG, or Battle.net and play the games they already own. Nvidia also mentions World of Tanks and Warframe as options on the new virtualization service. The company says its infrastructure will automatically patch games and drivers, to make the experience as smooth as possible for end users.

Nvidia's press materials don't discuss pricing and mention the GeForce GTX 1080 exclusively, but multiple outlets report that the Green Team will offer two different tiers of service. According to those reports, less-demanding gamers can play games on a virtual PC with a GTX 1060 for 25 hours for $20. Stepping up to a GeForce GTX 1080 costs the same $20, but playtime drops to ten hours. The company says the only requirements are a Mac or Windows PCs with a 25Mbps internet connection. I known I'm itching to play Doom and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on ye olde Pentium 100.